"Bring them hither to me"

THOMAS EMMANUEL HERON

In our search for Truth we have all been tempted at times to feel utterly unworthy of divine Love; but it is then we may be restored, if we will only turn our thought to the contemplation of one of the many instances which are recorded of the tenderness of Jesus towards mankind. The account of the feeding of the five thousand furnishes an instance of his tenderness and solicitude; and Matthew relates that, when the "five loaves, and two fishes" were offered,—a small portion indeed for so vast an assembly,—Jesus said, "Bring them hither to me," and then, "looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude."

By the spiritual illumination of the Scriptures which the study of Christian Science makes possible to each of us, we learn that in just this manner to-day does Christ, Truth, tenderly accept our individual offerings of humble desire for good, of secret longing and striving after holiness, of growing consecration to God's service. Few in number our "loaves" may appear to be, yet we must have abiding faith that divine Love, our Father-Mother God, will bless and multiply them to the feeding of the numerous demands which await our quickened sense of opportunity, responsibility, and service. And divine Love never ceases to offer opportunity for loving service to each and all of us.

It is evident that self-depreciation and self-consciousness had no place in the thought of the humble Christ Jesus. We all have the God-given ability to demonstrate the spiritual qualities that are necessary to repeat in some degree his many wonderful works. Did he not say, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also"?

Jesus had implicit faith that God would meet the need for food. We read, "He commanded the multitude to sit down" —thus to be in readiness for the provision of divine Love. This clearly points to the necessity of our demonstrating that spiritual understanding which dissipates the erring human sense of lack of the supply which is always forthcoming to do God's work.

The demonstrations of Jesus to benefit his brother-man and to glorify God were always unselfish. "Bring them hither to me" is indeed the irresistible and imperative call of the Christ, Truth, to human consciousness. The Christ was perceived, welcomed, and practiced in a measure by Moses and the prophets, was demonstrated to an extraordinary extent by Christ Jesus, and in our age was revealed to Mrs. Eddy, who defines "Christ" on page 583 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error."

What a revelation of the Christ is this, offering, as it unfolds and becomes established in our thought, beauty and power! As we awaken to the truths of Christian Science, our thoughts and actions become more selfless, more pure, and God's power and presence become more real to us.

May we consecrate ourselves anew to the vision of the Christ, which means salvation for the whole world! Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away;" and we who are living and working in the light of Christian Science are privileged to demonstrate this truth for others, as well as for ourselves, ever more lovingly and successfully.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit